COSAGO honours two at annual Independence luncheon

The Council of St Vincent and the Grenadines Organizations (COSAGO) recently bestowed recognition on two Vincentians who have contributed both to their place of birth and to the US, their adopted home.

Earl Horne and Robert Mc Barnett were honoured at the organization’s annual Independence luncheon, staged Sunday, October 25, at the Tropical Paradise Ballroom, on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn.{{more}}

Horne was recognized for his input into football and sports in general, as well as culture. A former general secretary of the then St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Association, Horne served as manager of the national senior football team. He was also secretary of the Windward Islands Football Association (WIFA), which at the time organized a home and away tournament among the four islands.

Horne has also been credited with the nurturing of Youths United, a potent team of the 1970’s, which emerged to produce several St Vincent and the Grenadines players.

After migrating to the USA in 1978, Horne, along with others, formed Hairoun, which was one of the better football teams in the Brooklyn League in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

A foundation member of the Vincy Soccer Cup, Horne played the role of manager of Team SVG in the Caribbean Cup.

A former student of the Kingstown Methodist School and the Intermediate High School, Horne is a senior activity specialist at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York.

Mc Barnett on the other hand, was recognized for his relentless donation of medical supplies to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Mc Barnett started in 2011, with the donation of a wheelchair to the Georgetown hospital, when he came home with a group from his church, St Jude Baptist Church.

On his return to the USA, Mc Barnett and his wife Sharon set about to do more, which resulted in a two large boxes of food, clothing, crutches, stationery, wheelchairs, canes and other items being shipped to his native land.

This gave rise to the establishment of the St Mathias Charities, which is seven members strong.

Since then, several donations have been made to the MCMH, including one in 2013 worth US$100 000.

Other donations have been made to communities across St Vincent and the Grenadines, with the St Mathias Charities spreading its love to neighbouring Grenada, as well.

Robert Mc Barnett left St Vincent and the Grenadines 34 years ago, 29 of those years being spent with his wife Sharon.

Last Sunday’s luncheon was the 26th edition of the annual Independence luncheon, as St Vincent and the Grenadines celebrated its 36th year of nationhood.(RT)